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What a bummer.
Panasonic Leica 10-25 mm ƒ 1.7 ASPH.
The professional, super bright lens for Olympus and Panasonic cameras - has been faulty right from day one. Without I fully realized it. (albeit i had a sneaking feeling after one month). I had bought it last July 2023, used it for a while - and then - somehow - i "avoided" to use it during winter. There was something off about the corners with this lens... Then I went full into the world of Fujifilm GFX medium format, and didn't use the Olympus cameras at all
Until a couple days ago, i started with them again. Wit among other lenses, also the Leica 10-25/1.7 ASPH lens ...
And there it was. Again...
That lingering, bad feeling in my stomach - the intuitive feeling that something was off with this lens. Grinding sneaking feeling. That damn expensive lens, i didn't use so much, but "absolutely had to have". Already angry about myself for such a stupid move.... Nevertheless - I wanted to know, what the F was going on with this lens. Could it be that bad ? Or was it my camera ? (Nope, i used 4 different ones, and all showed corner blurriness with the Leica lens).
Blurry Extreme corners AND borders
- showed really bad resolution, especially on the wider end, such as 10 mm, 12mm , 14mm, and 17 mm focal length (equivalent to 20mm, 24mm, 28mm and 34mm). Blurry to such a degree, that this lens known for its stellar optical performance - didn't even come close.
Regardless if i used it at wide open aperture ƒ1.7 or at ƒ2.8 - it just wasn't sharp. In the center yes - super sharp down to the finest detail at ƒ1.7 !
But the borders... where just bad.
Even at f5.6 the borders looked worse than any of my other Olympus or Panasonic lenses. So, that can't be a coincident. The performance is way off from a professional lens.
The stupidity was mine
- that I didn't fully realize this one year ago, from the start after the first shots. (That puzzles me. I used to be better about these things). When i look at the photos i made back then - the proof is in the pudding; blurry corners. Even stopped down.
However, i suspected this to be an occasional focus error from my Olympus OM-1 camera. But it felt disappointing, too. Secretly disappointing. Yet I just wasn't totally sure. Yeah, so stupid, and i should have known better - and investigate it immediately. That silently creepy feeling... i should has listened and followed up that feeling.
Was that cognitive dissonance ?
I kind of "didn't want such a pro lens to be faulty or bad". Yet, I left off the lens - didn't use it for 10 month always with that silently, gnawing feeling, that there is something weird about the blurry corners / borders... Kind of avoiding to use the lens, you know. And still paying that damn expensive thing off.
Filed an repair errand
I have already prepared the lens with everything needed, filed an errand at Panasonic - and they seem to be picking it up on Wednesday of everything goes well. It is still under guarantee. The question is, if they will acknowledge that this lens is faulty ? That's always a bit of a worry.
I am just so puzzled over that despite my knowledge and sharp eye - having been such a dumbass, missing the most obvious one year ago. Well, well... Mistakes are to be learned from - that is the good aspect of it !
Let's hope they fix the lens / or replace it.
Here are some screen shots at 10 mm focal length, left border
from the bad performance (red frame from the main photo), how that actually looks like
Manually focused at the border at ƒ1.7
The last shot, when I focused manually, showing the left border - at wide open aperture ƒ1.7 - and now how sharp it can be. The problem with this is, at the same time the IMAGE CENTER turns blurry. So,either way, always a trade off - as something is unbalanced or off about my lens.
It is a clear case
Clear is - that my lens performs really bad, i realize. A bit late, but I am still within the boundary of getting it fixed, as only 1 year has passed.
Given that this is regarded to be the finest lens Panasonic has made for the Micro Four Third system (Olympus & Panasonic) - it is a really bad performance. All my 4 Olympus cameras focused normally - all of them - would show the same bad optical performance at the image border. Hardly the performance of a professional lens. Even when stopping down to ƒ4.5 - my lens still couldn't produce good resolution.
So yeah. Now my brain got it. The lens is faulty.
Right from the start, it was flawed from day one. 
Compared to
Leica Elmarit DG 8-18 mm f 2.8 - 4 ASPH.
Here the wide open aperture performance of the Leica Elmarit lens at 10mm, from both (left) border, and then the extreme corner performance. This lens isn't super perfect, but shows a very solid good performance. Remember, the lens isn't stopped down ! Once you do, you get even more definition and resolution.
As you can see, the Leica Elmarit DG 8-18mm performs performs very solid at the image border AND the extreme image corner, both at wide open aperture of ƒ3.2
Way better than my botched Summilux 10-25 mm does regardless wide open aperture ƒ1.7 or stopped down to ƒ4.5. It is definitely not a normal performance for Panasonic Leica's best lens for Micro Four Thirds.
So. I made my case.
Left border of the Leica Elmarit DG 8-18mm ƒ 2.8-4 ASPH @ ƒ 3.2 wide open aperture (left border)
Faulty Leica Summilux DG 10-25mm ƒ 1.7 ASPH @ 1.7 wide open aperture in comparison (left border)
Leica Elmarit DG 8-18mm ƒ 2.8-4 ASPH @ ƒ 3.2 wide open aperture (lower left extreme corner)
One may ask
Did the post office throw the package around or drop it (Like they do in Sicily Nicolosi for example, throwing it over a 3.5 meter fence....) ? Or was it faulty right from the start ? None of it is totally out of the question.
Panasonic Leica does sometimes fuck up.
I once bought a new Panasonic Leica Summilux DG 12 mm ƒ 1.4 ASPH. lens, via gray market - which showed the most misaligned optical performance i have ever seen in my entire life. Utterly useless. Needless to say, I returned instantly and got my money back - never looking back at either the lens or the seller.
So yeah, it happens. Also with cameras i suspect.
Sometimes i wonder, if such out-of-spec lenses and cameras are sold off (via middle hands ?) primarily to the gray market or via Amazon ? Promise them cake, give them a small rebate, make no fuzz: and let them have it (e.g shit). As long as it sells, and the customer doesn't complain - the involved can get rid of bad lenses and make a dime.
I also have noticed stores doing that.
Even here in Stockholm.
One store i used to buy almost all my Olympus lenses from over the years. (Fotokungen). It happened with a silver version of the Olympus ED 12mm ƒ 2.0 (same store i bought the 10-25 mm ƒ 1.7 Leica lens from) which had a little rebate on it.
Realizing this very quickly; never getting got a really crisp sharp image when using this lens wide open (not even int he center) - but the difference was far more subtle. But since I do own professional Olympus lenses, i know what the sensor can resolve in resolution. I know when a lens is sharp or blurry. It appeared as if the ED 12/2 was constantly back focused (e.g. focusing a notch closer than normal)
I went back directly: where they told me that the lens was fine, and worked well on their camera, when they "tested" it on their monitor. Well, no shit.
I insisted on it was really not good (and it really wasn't to my eyes). I opted for the slightly higher priced black version - and guess what ? Now the performance was stellar.
I was right. They tried.
Then they sold that very lens to a different customer
Because days after, that lens with rebate was back again. Once again Listed for sale.
No shit. Woopie.
You have to watch out, even if you really, really badly want things to be just fine. Test your stuff properly. It is more common than you may think to get a lemon. That people, even the "nice ones", do sometimes cheat, whether that is on purpose or by accident - if such a things even exists. (Or whatever you may call it).
Well, with the Leica Panasonic 10-25/1.7 - I personally fucked up coming very late to dinner after one full year. Not realizing that it was bad right from the start.
It baffles me, to be honest. I used to be much better about these things.
What's the take out of all this ?
Learning lessons. Be more vigilant. Dare to call in question - but don't be emotionally over the top reactive, being stupid and suspect everything and anything all the time. Take your time in your evaluations. Have a photo buddy you can discuss things with, because sometimes 4 eyes see better than two. And don't let things hang for a year or two, when you stomach feeling is telling you that "something is off" - than there is something off.
Investigate what that is. |
